Chapter Text
Ch1.
The boat moved roughly side to side making the small rusty iron bird cage the fairy was trapped in sway wickedly. Everything smelled of brine and mold, the iron burned at each touch. Her small delicate wings were painfully atrophied from being unable to fly, her tears had long ago dried and now all she could do was lay on the cage floor and try to let sleep embrace her. Instead, her mind wandered to how she had been so carefree just a short while ago. Her days had been sunshine glinting off white snow as she flew through the woods; encouraging spring blooms and savoring the beauty of nature. Dancing every night with her kin in open glades filled with warmth. Humanity was far away and the few who made the trek to their lands never stayed long and often left offerings.
At the memory of her capture she sobbed dryly, her last moments of freedom had been spent curiously approaching a small pile of fae offerings that were left where many had been gifted before. Ripe fruit glistened in the dawn in colors and shapes she had never seen before and blooming flowers from somewhere distant that promised new fragrances. All she remembered was a long shadow before everything went dark. Now, here she was; nauseous, filthy, starving and alone with only the rare glimpse of light shining from under the heavy cloth. Her mind finally exhausted and a fitful sleep embraced her.
When she became aware again so many hours later she felt the small cage being carried, each step rattled jarringly. The smell of horses, filth, and smoke was overwhelming. The fairy assumed that she was in a human city of some sort, voices chatted in a language tinged with thick accents she had never heard before. A storm was rolling in making the air heavy with the oncoming rain. If any magic permeated the land here it was far away and tainted. The fairy almost pitied the humans here, but such empathy was long shed. She tried in vain to use her magic to try to escape but the iron bars around her sapped it all away.
Whoever carried the cage arrived somewhere and then in a flurry of locks and bolts she was suddenly no longer outside. The air was stagnant and smelled of dried flowers and dust. The door closed and the noise of the street stopped suddenly, it was so abrupt that her ears rang in pain causing her to let out the quietest gasp. Suddenly the cloth that covered her was lifted at the corner and a bright light blinded her as she held on tightly to stay upright. The human who carried her seemed to be amused at her predicament, chuckling darkly. The humans heavy footsteps walked up a flight of stairs until a final door was opened and shut. Her cage was finally set down and everything became still for the first time in what seemed like a lifetime. The relief was short lived as the heavy cloth was pulled off and tossed away.
The fairy slowly relaxed her grip from the iron bar as she stood weakly, the cage barely large enough for her to stand in. As her vision cleared she found herself inches from a sharp face of a human man. Startled she stepped back and away as far as she could, her wings pressed painfully against the iron bars. The human started to hum a tune as he observed her. She felt exposed and powerless.
The man after a time held up a small slice of fruit. His smile was small and tight as he asked.
"Tell me your name."
Her aching stomach clenched at the sight, the sweet smell of an apple was tantalizing. She shook her head with a definite ‘no’ and took a step forward not saying a word, hoping that maybe she would be shown some care. But the man just smiled wickedly and pulled it back away.
"You will tell me your secrets, one way or another." The man sneered in a singsong voice.
The human seemed smug and satisfied with himself and stepped back from the cage gesturing around the room humming his bizarre tune. Her vision was no longer obscured and the fairy had an unrestricted view of the oil lamp lit space. Thunder rolled outside as the first flashes of lightning lit the rooms contents. What she saw made her drop to her knees. Dead fairy creatures on display surrounded her. A werewolf roared silently frozen in time, a jar filled with sprites floated motionless, unknown skulls with various horns sat in a macabre row. A skeleton of a centaur was articulated as if it was rearing up for an attack. She couldn't stop her eyes from seeing what looked like fairy wings impaled to a board. Horror managed to dredge up what few tears she had remaining and all she could do was open her mouth to scream.
Before she could utter a sound an ear piercing wail rattled the windows causing both human and fairy to grasp their ears in pain.
"No!" The human shouted. "I was so close!"
The man made his way over to the cage and wrenched the small door open grabbing the fairy in a desperate grip. Lightning illuminated the man’s rage filled countenance as he held her inches from his face.
"Your kind can't hide your secrets forev-" Before the human could finish his sentence his eyes rolled back in his head and his heart ceased beating before he even hit the floor. Both man and fairy fell to the ground with a reverberating thud. Dazed and trapped in the man's grasp the fairy used what strength she had to free herself from the clenched dead man’s hands.
Thunder rolled and lightning illuminated the macabre contents of the room as the fairy flexed her wings and took flight. Fueled by fear and without a glance back she sped as fast as she could through a cracked open window and into the storm.